Creepy Things

An insidious cause of deterioration in books and documents is infestation by insects and vermin. Unless these creatures are eradicated the damage can be widespread and rare volumes put at risk. Vacuum machines contibute by removing insects, grubs, eggs and detritus from areas that are difficults to clean. Pests, moulds and fungus flourish in a damp warm atmosphere and may therfore be discouraged by a temperature of 15-18°C (60-65°F) and a relative humidity of 45-50%.
The most common species of harmful insects found in and around books are silverfish, booklice, moths, beetles, mites and cockroaches.

Silverfish
These carrot-shaped wingless insects about 12mm in length are recognizable by their silvery-scaled bodies and rapid rippling movements. Active at night or in warm dark areas, they feed on starch, dextrine, animal size and cellulose, particulary from modern papers. The "firebrat", common in America is similar to the silverfish but is broader ad darker in colour and prefers much warmer conditions.

Book Lice
Insects about 1 mm in length, with white brown semi-transparant bodies. They infest buildings and book storage areas. Proliferating in damp conditions, they feed on paper, moulds, lichens, starch, organic glue, cloth, silk and leather.

House Moths
The brown house moth varies in colour from the light to tawny brown with wings flecked by a lighter tone. The five species associated with books are between 6 and 14 mm from head to wing tips. They appear at any time of the year but fly from May to October. They live on fur, skins, silk, cotton, linen, wool, starch and glue. Further damage from moths is caused by the oval cocoons about 10 mm long that rest in hollows bitten out of leather and paper. The larvae in the holes can remain comatose for long periods until conditions are favourable for survival, when they will burrow out and feed on their surroundings.

Wood Boring Beetles
There are a formidable number of species, found widely, including furniture, bacon, larder and carpeet beetles. The larvae of the latter areknown as "woolly bears". Reddish-brown furniture beetles, whose larvae are book worms, are wood-boring insects that infest neglected books stored in humid conditions. The eggs, which measure from 0.35 mm to 0.55 mm, are laid in crevices and folds and hatch in three to four weeks. The pale cream-coloured larvae are worm-like and up to 6 mm in length. They will tunnel through wood, board and paper for as long as five years. Eventually they will lie just under the surface in a "gallery"where they change from larvae to adult beetles. The pupal change takes about six weeks before the beetles emerge from neat round holes.

Cockroach
Cockroaches are omnivores and eat all organic material, like glue. They live in warm humid surroundings. Also their excrements are damaging.
(For more information on cockroaches: species, full color pictures and an extensive biography see the Cockroach Homepage).

How to Beat the Enemy

Pest Management (from Conservation OnLine, resources for conservation professionals, the best place for online articles on various conservation topics like Disaster Planning and Response, Electronic Media, Ethics, Pest Management and Health and Safety, and over 40 other links to related servers. Conservation OnLine is a project of the Preservation Department of Stanford University Libraries.)